You may have read aboutthe study which says aromatherapy ddoesn't workand if you know me, you were probably waiting for me to say something about it. My first reaction was a firm, angry "B.S.!!!!" And to a point, I still feel that way. But there are two sides to how I consider research now, and I feel I should address this research honestly. Keep in mind, however, that I am not a trained medical professional.

First, I think that aromatherapy is helpful for me and my particular symptoms. Yes, I know that the research says hat things didn't change. But they didn't study RSD patients. They didn't study me. Anyone with RSD can tell you that medications and other treatments affect each person with RSD differently. I get good results with LidoDerm, some eople find it makes their pain worse because of the pressure of the patches. I can't stand TENS and some people wouldn't be separated from their unit. And certainly, there is a big difference between RSD and the acute pain inflicted by the study.

And, after looking at the research and what's been publicized about it, I think that it was setting the aromatherapy up to fail. How many of you would have your mood improve if you had a cotton ball with an essential oil taped under your nose? Anyone who does aromatherapy knows that there can be too much of a good thing. And if you're using the inhalation method, you either do it for a short time, or with less of a concentration. It's similar to how one cup of coffee makes you feel good, but four would make you feel like jumping out of your skin.

The last thing I'll say that leads me to believe this study isn't applicable for my situation, is that it's wonderful to take measurement of the chemicals they did to get an idea of how the essential oils might be acting on the body, but I wonder if there are other chemicals that we don't know we should look for, but that are important.

Now, on the other hand, I do want to say that I'm glad the study is being done. We can't expect a practice to be taken seriously if we don't know what is true about it and what is not. This study tells us what is not true about the practice. There might be other, more effective, measurements of quality.

I read the first page of the article. . .don't think I really wanted to go further. . . I really have a hard time with experiments that are boxed in. They are looking for short term physical effects, if aromatherapy were to effect anything, it would be the hormonal system - and not necessarily the sex hormones. That would be something that would be long term in its effects and like finding a needle in a haystack, because there are so many environmental factors that could cause the same results, or negate the results.